Illuminated throwing toy

ABSTRACT

An illuminated throwing toy is provided which is adapted to be thrown by a user for a flight through the air. The toy includes a hollow, inflatable, football-shaped head portion made of a flexible, translucent material, that is centered about a longitudinal axis, an elongate tail portion with fins that extend axially rearward from the head portion along the longitudinal axis, and a coupling, which interconnects the head and tail portions and allows the portions to be movable relative to each other, particularly to be rotatably movable about the longitudinal axis. The tail portion has a front section that is permanently affixed to rear of the football-shaped head portion and a rear section that comprises fins. The front section is permanently attached to the rear of the head portion and the rear section is removably attached to the front section. The front section of the tail portion comprises a light emitting diode (LED), batteries, a circuit for lighting the LED, and a switch for energizing the circuit with the batteries. The circuit has an off state, a first state in which it causes the LED to be continuously lit, and a second state in which it causes the LED to be periodically lit in a pulsed manne. The LED is in contact with the rear of the football-shaped head portion and when the LED is lit the translucent material from which the head portion is made conducts the light generated by the LED and appears to glow, causing the throwing toy to be visible under low light conditions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to toys. More particularly, it is directed to a toy throwing ball with a main body with a tail portion having fins. Even, more particularly the toy has a football-shaped body that is translucent and is lit to glow to be visible under low light conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many of the consumers of throwing ball toys have expressed a desire to use said products in a low light environment as indicated by relatively large sales of such prior art products. Several designs have been proposed for illuminating throwing ball balls to enable play under low light conditions. The illumination means are diverse and include light emitting diodes and chemiluminescent means.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,030 describes an illuminated translucent ball having an access opening in its side and in the opening is mounted a case that contains batteries in a battery compartment, a mount for a light source in the form of an light emitting diode (LED), and a switch for selectively activating the light source. The switch is formed in a cap that is used for closing the access opening so is actuable from the surface of the ball.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,047 describes an illuminated ball having a translucent core. Integrally molded with the shell is a component tree or light source having branches extending from the center of the ball to the surface of the ball. At the tip of each of these branches is placed a high density LED light. A plug is provided on a lower side of the ball to allow access to the light assembly and to allow the battery to be changed. On an upper side of the ball, which may be a football, there is placed a power switch which allows the light to be turned on and off.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,686 describes an illuminated translucent ball that has LEDs mounted in the inner surface of the ball shell and are connected to an interior rechargeable battery set via a power switch for energizing the LEDs. The switch is mounted in the interior of the ball and is actuated by a slender rod-like tool that must be inserted into a switch access passage. The batteries are recharged via a recharging connector mounted interior to the ball and accessed via a passage that extends from the recharging connector to the surface of the ball body, and a slender rod-like electrical connector is inserted through the access passage to engage the recharging connector for recharging the batteries.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,589 describes an illuminated translucent ball having an opening in its side that accesses a compartment in which are mounted a battery and lights. A switch is mounted in the wall of the ball to connect the battery to the lights and illuminate the ball. A cap with living hinge is used to create a watertight seal for the opening. The cap is opened to access the compartment and install or replace batteries.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,528 describes an illuminated translucent ball that has a passage there through into which an insulating, rigid case is inserted. The ends of the case may be substantially flush with the surface if the ball. The case has mounted therein lights and a battery, and the ends of the case are sealed by end caps that are also used to access the interior of the case to replace the batteries. One end cap may serve as a switch to turn the lights on and off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An illuminated throwing toy is provided that can be selectively illuminated to permit play under low light conditions, yet is rugged enough for use. The toy is inflatable and the means for illuminating the toy is attached to the outside of the toy. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the toy is an inflatable football with an elongate tail portion, and illumination means is mounted outside the football between the tail portion and one end of the football. An alternative embodiment of the invention does not have the illumination means.

[0009] The toy has a hollow, inflatable, football-shaped head portion made of a flexible, translucent material, that is centered about a longitudinal axis, an elongated tail portion with fins that extend axially rearward from the head portion along the longitudinal axis, and a coupling, which interconnects the head and tail portions of the football and allows the portions to be movable relative to each other, particularly to be rotatably movable about the longitudinal axis. The tail portion has a front section that is permanently affixed to the rear end of the football-shaped head portion coaxial with the axis of the football, and an elongate rear section that comprises fins and that is also coaxial with the axis of the football. The front section of the tail portion is permanently attached to the rear of the head portion and the rear section of the tail portion, the portion having fins, is removably attached to the front section of the tail portion.

[0010] The front section of the tail portion that is permanently attached to the read end of the football has a high intensity light emitting diode (LED) immediately adjacent the football, batteries, a circuit for lighting the LED, and a switch for energizing the circuit with the batteries, and all these elements are mounted therein. The circuit has three operating states: an off state, a first state in which it causes the LED to be continuously lit, and a second state in which it causes the LED to be periodically lit in pulsing manner. The LED is in contact with the rear of the football-shaped head portion and when the LED is lit the translucent material from which the head portion is constructed conducts the light generated by the LED and the football appears to glow, causing it to be visible under low light conditions.

[0011] The tail portion of the illuminated football, with or without fins, helps the football to fly straight. The tail portion overcomes an inherent instability, caused by the center of pressure's being forward of the center of gravity, giving the football a natural tendency, when thrown along a flight path, to tumble end over end. This natural tendency has been countered in the past by two methods. One is spiraling the football, which is by imparting a spin or rotation about the football's longitudinal axis as the football is thrown. The spin provides a gyroscopic effect that tends to keep the nose of the football pointed in a constant direction. However, the spin is often insufficient to overcome the football's inherent instability completely and the football rocks during flight about a pitch and a yaw axis. Such rocking can also be described as a circular movement of the football's nose about the flight path. The rocking increases the effective frontal cross-section of the football, thus increasing drag and shortening the flight's length. The other method for improving the football's stability is to add a tail, especially one with fins. The addition of the tail moves both the center of pressure and the center of gravity of the combined football-and-tail rearward as compared to the football alone. However, the greater surface area-to-weight ratio of the finned tail, as compared to the football, moves the center of pressure farther rearward, ideally to a position aft of the center of gravity which provides inherent stability. However, known tail configurations can actually degrade flight quality by increasing drag unnecessarily and resisting spin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0012] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the drawing in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 shows a side view of an illuminated throwing toy showing a football-shaped head portion and a finned tail portion according to the present invention; and

[0014]FIG. 2 shows a side view of the illuminated throwing toy showing the various parts that make it up separated; and

[0015]FIG. 3A is a front view of the front section of the finned tail portion that contains the batteries, switch, light emitting diode and circuitry for lighting same;

[0016]FIG. 3B is a rear view of the front section of the finned tail portion that contains the batteries, switch, light emitting diode and circuitry for lighting same, and showing how the batteries are inserted into the front section; and

[0017]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the circuitry that is used to energize the light emitting diode to illuminate the throwing toy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018]FIG. 1 shows a side view of an illuminated throwing toy 10 showing a football-shaped head portion 11 and a finned tail portion 22 that is made up of front section pieces 12 a and 12 b, and an elongated, finned rear section 21 according to the present invention.

[0019] Head portion 11 is hollow, inflatable and football shaped, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and is made of flexible translucent plastic. The translucent plastic may be of any color but a color that readily stands out in low light conditions is preferred. The football shaped head 11 is hollow, sealed and is pressurized by inflating it with a air pump via one-way valve 23 through the wall of the head in a manner well known in the art. The surface of head 11 is textured during manufacture to aid in holding it for the purposes of both throwing and catching the football. The size of head 11 is selected to permit it to be comfortably held by smaller hands of children under the age of 10. However, head 11 may be of different sizes for use by different age groups.

[0020] Head portion 11 has a longitudinal axis and finned tail portion 22 is coaxially oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis. As previously described, tail portion 22 is made up of front section pieces 12 a and 12 b and elongated, finned rear section 21. Front section 12 a is permanently attached to the rear of football-shaped head portion 11 by an adhesive or by being thermally fused thereto. As is described further in this detailed description, and shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, front section 12 a contains a light emitting diode (LED) that is positioned therein to be against the rear of football shaped head portion 11 for illuminating translucent head portion 11, batteries, circuitry for energizing the LED, and a switch 16 for enabling the circuitry.

[0021] Rear section 12 b is assembled with finned tail portion 21 and the combination is attached to front section 12 a in a detachable manner using a screw 12W. Combined pieces 12 b and 21 are detached from front section 12 a when the batteries (not shown in FIG. 1) are to be installed or are to be replaced.

[0022]FIG. 2 shows a side view of the illuminated throwing toy showing the various parts that make it up separated. There are four basic parts. There is the football-shaped head portion 11, front section piece 12 a (forward), front section piece 12 b (rearward) and elongated, finned tail portion 21 attached to section 12 b. Pieces 12 a and 12 b are molded of plastic. The front of piece 12 a is concave and shaped to perfectly accept the shape of the rear end of head portion 11 (football) during assembly. The LED, circuitry, batteries and switch 16 mounted in piece 12 a are not shown in FIG. 2 but they are mounted in front section 12 a, and they are shown in and described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The rearward extension 12 a 3 of front section piece 12 a is circular in shape, which is not apparent in FIG. 2, to slide into a mating, circular recess 12 b 2 of approximately the same size in the front of front section piece 12 b and permits pieces 12 a and 12 b to be detachably fastened together as described in the following sentences. There is a hole 12 a 4 through the side wall of rearward extension 12 a 3 that aligns with a hole 12 b 4 through the side wall of piece 12 b when rearward extension 12 a 3 is inserted into mating recess 12 b 2. A self tapping screw (not shown) is then screwed into aligned holes 12 a 4 and 12 b 4 and is used to detachably fasten pieces 12 a and 12 b together so the throwing toy maybe utilized.

[0023] The rear portion of front piece 12 b has been partially described in the previous paragraph. Piece 12 b has a recess 12 b 3 at its rear into which an extension 14 b of finned tail portion 21 is inserted and is loosely attached therein so head portion 11 can rotate independent of tail portion when the toy/football is thrown in a spiraling manner. Alternatively, tail portion 21 may be made removable if a user of throwing toy 10 does not wish to use the tail portion. Elongated, finned tail portion 21 comprises an elongated, rod like, molded plastic piece 14, and a molded foam, finned piece 15. Plastic piece 14 has an extension 14 b at its front end used to fasten tail portion 21 to front section piece 12 b as previously described, a restraining flange 14 c to prevent foam finned piece 15 from moving any further forward than flange 14 c, an elongated rod like piece (not shown in FIG. 2), and a restraining flange 14 a that has a diameter a little large than the diameter of the rod like piece. Flange 14 a prevents foam, finned piece 15 from moving any further rearward than flange 14 a. The molded foam finned piece 15 has a hole therethrough that is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the football shaped head portion 11. The diameter of the hole is slightly larger than the diameter of the rod piece. In assembly the hole through foam piece 15 is deformed and slides over restraining flange 14 a until it is positioned between restraining flanges 14 a and 14 c where it is retained.

[0024]FIG. 3A is a front view (at slice A in FIG. 2) of front section piece 12 a that contains the batteries, switch, light emitting diode and circuitry for lighting same. As previously described the front of piece 12 a is concave and matches the shape of the rear end of football shaped head portion 11, although that cannot be seen in this Figure, and accepts the rear end of head portion 11 during assembly. There is a hole coaxially in the front of front piece 12 a in which is mounted the high intensity LED 17. When piece 12 a is affixed to head portion 11 LED 17 touches the rearmost end of the football shaped head portion 11. When LED 17 is energized the light that it emits travels through the translucent material from which head portion 11 is fabricated because it acts as a light pipe. Head portion 11 is thereby illuminated and is easily seen under low light conditions.

[0025]FIG. 3B is a rear view of front piece 12 a that contains the batteries 19 a-19 c, switch 16, light emitting diode 17, and circuitry (not shown) for lighting LED17. This Figure shows how the batteries 19 a-19 c are inserted into recess 18 in the rear of the front section 12 a. There are contacts in recess 18 (not shown) to make electrical contact with the batteries. Mounted through the sidewall of piece 12 a is a switch 16 that is described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. This Figure only shows mid section 12 a 2 and rearward extension 12 a 3 of piece 12 a for sake of simplicity. Batteries 19 a-19 c provide power to the circuitry (not shown) that is mounted in mid section 12 a 2 along with switch 16. Batteries 19 a-19 c are small, circular, button cell batteries that are readily available. When piece 12 b is detachably fastened to piece 12 a using a self tap screw (not shown), as previously described, batteries 19 a- 19 c are retained in recess 18. The screw is removed and piece 12 b is detached from piece 12 a when the batteries are to be installed or replaced.

[0026]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the circuitry that is used to energize the light emitting diode to illuminate the throwing toy. As described in the previous paragraphs battery 19 comprises three button cell batteries 19 a-19 c and LED 17 is a high intensity LED. Switch 16 is a three position switch that changes its operational state each time it is depressed. In its rest or normal state switch 16 is open and battery 19 is not connected to pulse switch 20 and LED 17. When switch 16 is depressed a first time it enters its second state in which power from battery 19 is connected directly to LED 17 which thereby emits lights continuously. The second time that switch 16 is depressed it instead connects battery 19 to pulse circuit 20 which applies power to LED 17 in a pulsed manner thereby causing LED 17 to pulse or blink on and off at a rate between three to six times a second. The blining causes head 11 of throwing toy 10 to be very visible under low light conditions. Finally, the third time that switch 16 is depressed it returns to its first state and LED 17 is not energized. It should be understood that the LED pulse rate may be different than described herein, that more than one LED may be provided, or that when more than one LED is provided they may be pulsed at different rates to increase visibility of throwing toy 10.

[0027] In an alternative embodiment of the invention the illumination means is deleted, and the football is inflatable. In addition, the football can have a highly visible color, such as fluorescent orange.

[0028] While what has been described hereinabove is the preferred embodiment of the invention, one skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the light source may be attached to the outside of other types of throwing toys. 

1. A toy comprising: a ball; and a light source external to the ball, the light source being energized to illuminate the ball.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a tail portion that is attached to the outside of the ball and the light source is in the tail portion adjacent to the surface of the ball.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein the ball is made of a translucent material, and light from the energized light source travels through the translucent material thereby causing the ball to be illuminated.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 further comprising a switch that is operable to energize the light source.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein the switch is operable to cause the light source be extinguished, to emit light continuously, or to emit light in a pulsed manner.
 6. The invention in accordance with claim 5 wherein the ball is football shaped and the tail portion is attached to one end of the football.
 7. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the ball is hollow and is inflatable.
 8. The invention in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a switch that is operable to energize the light source.
 9. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein the switch is operable to cause the light source be extinguished, to emit light continuously, or to emit light in a pulsed manner.
 10. The invention in accordance with claim 9 wherein the ball is football shaped and the tail portion is attached to one end of the football.
 11. The invention in accordance with claim 10 wherein the ball is made of a translucent material, and light from the energized light source travels through the translucent material thereby causing the ball to be illuminated.
 12. The invention in accordance with claim 11 wherein the ball is hollow and is inflatable.
 13. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the ball is hollow and is made of a translucent material, and light from the energized light source travels through the translucent material thereby causing the ball to be illuminated.
 14. The invention in accordance with claim 13 further comprising a switch that is operable to energize the light source.
 15. The invention in accordance with claim 14 wherein the switch is operable to cause the light source be extinguished, to emit light continuously, or to emit light in a pulsed manner.
 16. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the ball is hollow and is inflatable.
 17. The invention in accordance with claim 16 further comprising a tail portion that is attached to the outside of the ball and the light source is in the tail portion adjacent to the surface of the ball.
 18. The invention in accordance with claim 17 wherein the ball is made of a translucent material, and light from the energized light source travels through the translucent material thereby causing the ball to be illuminated.
 19. The invention in accordance with claim 18 further comprising a switch that is operable to energize the light source.
 20. The invention in accordance with claim 19 wherein the switch is operable to cause the light source be extinguished, to emit light continuously, or to emit light in a pulsed manner.
 21. A toy comprising: a hollow, inflatable ball; and a tail portion that is attached to the outside of the ball. 